December 20th, 2017 by WCBC Radio

What were we thinking?

That question was asked in reaction to our selection of the late CSX CEO Hunter Harrison as WCBC Person Of The Year.

First, our Person of the Year recognition is not an award. There is no trophy. The person selected could be a positive force in the community, such as when we selected Sheriff Craig Robertson for his efforts to combat the opioid epidemic last year. On the other hand, in 2013, we selected Maryland Secretary of Public Safety and Corrections Gary Maynard as Person of the Year because of what we saw as ineffective leadership in light of the attacks on correctional officers at WCI and NBCI locally.

So it can go positive or negative in nature.

Locally, there can be little doubt that several key stories in 2017 involve CSX. What had been a steady employment situation for decades suddenly became unstable. Over 200 were furloughed locally, and that can be laid directly at the feet of the presence of one person: Hunter Harrison.

Another big CSX story was the evacuation of Hyndman in early August after a major derailment there. The National Transportation Safety Board said the train was not speeding, but did Harrison's policies lead to the accident in other ways? There will likely be litigation that determines the answer to that question in the future.

There were other major stories connected to CSX, if not Harrison directly. Two local workers were killed in DC when they were inspecting a CSX train and were struck by a passing Amtrak train. A man was struck and killed by a train on Cumberland's West Side. The top of a CSX Train hit the Washington Street Bridge, causing enough damage for a permanent closure. Additionally, there were derailments in the Cumberland yard. Responsibility for what happens in an organization ultimately rests with the person at the top.

One CSX story that cannot be blamed on Harrison is the bridge issue on Cumberland's West Side. Those bridges have been in trouble for more than a decade, but a case could be made that the uncertainty surrounding the future of CSX in Cumberland made local officials a little gun shy to pursue legal action against the railroad, so as not to irritate the CEO.

In 2017, the big story, both short term and long term, is what has been, and is, going on at CSX.

To be blunt, we would have loved to pick someone who is local to the story, but there is a general fear among even union officials to take their case public. In that regard, we get a lot of our information from sources that are well placed and vetted, but will only speak on the condition of anonymity.

In naming Hunter Harrison “Person Of The Year,” we are not endorsing his actions or his policies, merely recognizing that no other person has had a greater impact on the local region, from the economy to individual railroad families.